session overview

Thursday 26th January 2012

15:30 - 16:30 Track 2 Session 5

Learning management

How much management does learning at work need? How much do systems play a part? In this session three speakers with three different views share their opinions on a matter that has been the subject of some controversy over past conferences. At one end of the spectrum are those who believe that we learn naturally and that any intervention in the process will be counter-productive. At the other end are the strict behaviourists who demand nothing but instruction. None of our speakers is so extreme, but each has a strong opinion based on years of experience.

P1: L&D risks becoming a dead weight

Charles Jennings, Director, Duntroon Associates

The debate over learning management is sometimes presented as a simple dichotomy of free, natural, informal learning versus the dead, heavy hand of ‘push’ learning systems. The real debate is more complex than that, but there is real truth in the idea that L&D spends too much time managing activity and trying to control from the centre, when it should be facilitating learning.

Why managers should manage and L&D should enable
Where L&D needs to let go
Overcoming our obsession with activity and focusing on real learning

P2: Learning can’t be left to chance

Barry Sampson, Consultant, BarrySampson.com

We cannot leave learning to chance. Of course we learn naturally, but in the workplace we cannot simply hope that our informal learning will be effective, aligned to the business, accurate and sufficient. We must, therefore, manage learning to some extent, if only to reach the places that informal learning does not touch.

We don’t know what we don’t know – and that’s important
Allowing people to learn naturally, but to learn the right things
Concentrating on the right sort of learning management

P3: Systems have a part to play

Andy Wooler, HR Technology Manager, Legal and General Insurance Group

There is confusion about the term ‘Learning Management System’. An LMS is not used to manage learning. It is used to manage the activity around learning. And that is vital. An industry veteran with a decade’s experience working with LMSs/learning systems, Andy Wooler knows their shortcomings, but also understands why they are so important – especially in a highly-regulated environment.